Evil Genes--a plunge into non-fiction

The full title of the book is Evil genes : why Rome fell, Hitler rose, Enron failed and my sister stole my mother's boyfriend by Barbara Oakley. Although she deals with some genetic research, this is primarily an overview of the research on the neurophysiology and neurochemistry of various psychiatric disorders. Personal anecdotes are sprinkled throughout as her interest in the area did come from her puzzlement over her sister's often amoral and Machiavellian behavior. She focuses initially on the development of the construct of Machiavelliamism and then moves on to its relationship to various personality disorders, e.g., narcissistic, borderline, sociopathic and psychopathic disorders. She has separate chapters on Mao Zedong, Adolf Hitler, and Slobodan Milosevic. She posits that some personality disorders may actually be adaptive, helping certain people rise to the top and gain the power and influence to expand their gene pool. She has lots of interesting side notes on things like the neurobiology of religiosity and political beliefs. Her background is as a systems engineer and she does a reasonably good job of bringing some diverse areas of research together, but it is dense and technical reading and I wouldn't recommend it unless you yourself feel compelled to learn more about someone you think might be personality disordered. Her conclusions are that people really are determined more by inheritance than nurture--undoubtedly a comfort to parents/family of those with serious personality disorders. And so I am reminded that people do not change awfully much, and that wishing they would behave differently is just that--wishing.

Back to some old favorites -- Candace Robb

I thoroughly enjoy the Own Archer and Lucie Wilton series, partly because they are a series and the characters develop over time and you feel like you get to know them. I haven't actually read the immediate predecessor (A Gift of Sanctuary) to A Spy for the Redeemer, which apparently sets Owen off to Wales in the company of his father-in-law, Lucie's father. In this book, the impending revolt of Welsh rebels confronts Owen with his conflicting loyalties -- England vs. Wales. A mysterious suicide involves Owen directly with the various political factions and delays his return when he is ordered by the local Archdeacon to investigate. His long absence raises doubts in Lucie as well about Owen's love and commitment to her and their children, especially as rumors begin to circulate that Owen has joined the rebels. She is tempted by attentive men, some with good motives and some not. Lucie is distraught to learn her father has died on the trip and when she goes to check on his estate, run by her aunt, robbers attack, leaving Lucie unsure of what to do. What I like in general about historical mysteries--at least well-done ones like Robb's--is the opportunity to really get a feel for the events and settings and day-to-day lives of the people in a particular time and place, in this case, 14th C England (York especially) and Wales. Graduate work in medieval literature launched her interests in writing about the period and her literary career.